At the Barricade
by Miss Pontmercy
Summary: REVISED with NEW STORY! Eponine is fed up with Marius' treatment of her, and decides to take matters into her own hands. She's not the only woman at the barricade, and the motives are nasty.
1. First New Chapter Eponine

**So this is a mini-series, revising "At the Barricade" with a more plausible and less cheesey plotline and better dialogue, as I am writing it several years after the first one was published. REVIEWS WOULD BE LOVERLY!**

* * *

Hmph. He really was cold to her now, wasn't he? That just would not do. Loving him felt like a knife in the ribs- every time she breathed it hurt, and the pain never dulled. The thought of him was once exciting and hopeful, but now it just brought pain. It was all that Cosette's fault.

On June 4th, 1832, Eponine was roaming the streets. In one part of Paris she could hear screams and shots sounding off- chaos. She longed for somewhere quieter, and wandered to a nearly empty field, one in which she had once talked to Monsieur Marius.

She'd only been sitting a minute, but she got up from her seat at the park and began to walk again. Eponine did not know exactly what took her there, but she decided to go to the rue Plumet. She knew Marius would not be there, for it was only midday, but wanted to see if her plan had gone into action. Would Cosette and Valjean be moving today?

So, dressed, in boy's clothes, Eponine paced outside that little bon-bon's gate. She was wrapped up in her thoughts- would it be enough to just send Cosette to England? What if Marius found a way to go there himself? Or they wrote letters? Distance might not keep them apart- still, she believed he would move on eventually. But maybe more decisive action should be taken...

"Excuse me?"

Eponine whirled around, and searched for the voice. It was high and mature, and came from inside the gate. Cosette. Eponine glanced over her and saw her rosy cheeks, her blue eyes, though a little frantic, still beautiful.

"I'm sorry, but I was wondering if you could do me a favor, young man?"

Eponine chafed at that- yes, she was dressed in boy's clothes, but it was obvious she was not a boy! The fact was not so apparent to such a pretty thing like Cosette, who was so used to her own beauty that anyone with less wasn't even a girl anymore. Eponine glared.

"What is it?" she croaked, her voice harsh.

Cosette looked put off but her tone, but continued. "I have a letter for someone, and was wondering if you could put it to post for me. It's very important." She took a coin from the pocket of her dress. "I'll give you five francs."

Eponine sniffed rudely.

"_Please?" _Cosette pleaded. "I'm begging-"

"Give it here," Eponine said, knowing who the letter would be sent to.

"Oh- thank you," Cosette said, and handed it over. Indeed, it was addressed to M. Marius Pontmercy. Eponine's insides dropped, sickened. She grimaced, but then realized that, with Cosette's letter, she had ultimate power.

She could not deliver the letter. She didn't know what it said, but could just as soon read it once around the corner, away from Cosette's prying eyes. Either way, it was obvious the letter was important, or Cosette wouldn't be so desperate to have it posted. Not delivering it would surely cause some problem in their relationship. Or...

The idea struck Eponine suddenly, seeing Marius' address in print. M. Courfeyrac lived with Marius- Courfeyrac who would be going to the barricades. It would be only so easy to get Marius there, as well- all she'd have to do was not give him the letter, and then plant the idea in his mind to go there... Surely Marius would be in despair, in some kind of depression, and would want solace...

And Cosette could be there too. Eponine snickered, imagining Cosette at a street riot. But she could suggest it to the girl, mention that her lover was going to fight... Either Cosette was too self-centered and cowardly to try and save him, or she'd run to the fighting to try and save her Marius.

Where she would surely die.

"Monsieur Marius?" Eponine said, reading it.

"You know him?" Cosette said interestedly, interpreting her tone correctly.

"Yes... I don't know that he'll be home tonight, though," Eponine said, trying to plant the seed of Marius going off to fight. "He's planning to go out."

"I know," Cosette said, unruffled.

_How could she already know? Surely he hasn't mentioned anything about the barricades to this little sugared-up, lacy girl._ Then Eponine realized. _Oh. He would be out with Cosette tonight, coming to her garden._

_Not if I can help it._

"I know his friends are going out, Mademoiselle. They are going to the fighting on the streets- I heard them talking earlier today, Monsieur Marius too... he sounded unhappy."

"Fighting?" Cosette said, gripping the wrought iron bars of the gate.

"Yes- there are riots going on due to the funeral of General Lamarque. I believe Monsieur Marius was going to go."

"Will people die?" Cosette asked, her eyes wide, her voice soft.

"I'm afraid so," Eponine said.

Cosette took a step back, and Eponine noticed the girl's hands were shaking. She resisted the urge to snicker.

"Wait right here," Cosette said, and reached her hand for the letter back. "I'll just write something else... I add something to the bottom of the letter. He won't go if I ask him not to, I know he won't-"

"Oh, you're sure you know him so well?"

Cosette's eyes, usually so docile and demure, flared a bit. "Yes. I know he would listen to me."

Eponine said. "Maybe in person, but in a letter... And I already said, he might not be home. He's probably not home. The chances of your letter reaching him are slim."

"What do I do? I can't let him go!" Cosette said desperately.

"I'll help you," Eponine said. She took a step closer to the gate, and Cosette stepped back, afraid. Eponine decided that she could gain Cosette's trust some, and took off her hat, letting her hair down. Then Eponine looked up at the other girl- Eponine's natural gaze fell to Cosette's lips, that was how much shorter she was than the other girl. Her lips were beautiful- red and rosy and right now, pouted in fear. Eponine wondered if she had kissed Marius' lips- he had a beautiful mouth. Had he kissed her?

She knew that answer was yes.

"Oh," Cosette gasped, thrown by the fact that she was not talking to a young man.

"That's right. I'm a girl- you know me. I want to help you."

"I know you?" Cosette asked, confused. She knew so few people in her life that not recognizing one was a strange occurrence.

"Why, yes. Don't you remember me, Cosette? I'm Eponine. You used to live with my family- my mother treated you awfully. Worse than the dog." Eponine lowered her eyes, feigning a look of shame. "I understand if you don't want to come with me. I can see why you wouldn't trust me. But really, I want to make it up to you."

Cosette's mouth dropped open, thinking of those mysterious years before she had met her Papa, and how she never knew the answers to all the questions she had...

Eponine held up a hand. "We don't have time to talk about that-"

"How do you know Marius?" Cosette asked.

Eponine snickered. She was sorely tempted to tell Cosette that she knew Monsieur Marius because she often shared a bed with him... but Cosette probably wouldn't even know what that meant, nor would she believe it anyway. Regardless, for this plan to work, Cosette needed to trust Eponine.

"He used to be my neighbor. He gave me bread once and gave my family money."

Cosette got a disgusting sweet look on her face than, and Eponine cut her off before she could say something too complementary about her beau.

"Anyway, are you going to let me take you there or not?"

"_Take _me there?" Cosette exclaimed. "To the barricades? But-"

"But what? If you don't go, you'll never save him. You love him, don't you?"

"Yes!" Cosette shot back, angrily and defensively. "Of course I do! How _dare_ you? But that doesn't mean I'm going to do something thoughtless- I have to have a _plan_ first-"

"Well I can be waiting here for you at midnight tonight. If you want to come, I'll take you to him. If you don't... just stay upstairs." She said that last part cruelly, her voice pointing out the Cosette's bourgeoisie lifestyle while her eyes scraped over her dress.

However, Cosette refused to get mad. She instead turned pale, worried about Marius. "Midnight! But it's two o'clock now. That's ten hours away... what if he's hurt by then?"

"He'll be fine- the fighting won't start until later, trust me."

"And you know your way? You're positive?"

"Yes," Eponine said truthfully. "I know exactly where the fighting is."

Cosette looked toward the house. "My father... I've never lied to him before."

Eponine snorted. "Not true. You lie to him every night, don't you?"

Cosette blushed. "It's not the same thing. I'm perfectly safe here in the garden. He'd be angry if he knew I ran out of the house alone, where it's dangerous."

Eponine was about to say that he would probably be angry if he knew his daughter was sneaking out for midnight rendezvous every night, but bit her tongue.

"You'll be with me. You won't be alone," Eponine said instead.

Cosette bit her lip, getting the feeling that Eponine might not be the most trustworthy friend for her. However, if she could help save Marius, Cosette would have to take a chance. But still... Papa would be so angry. Maybe...

"I can ask him to come with us!" Cosette said. "I know Papa will help. I know he'll say yes if I ask him-"

"You certainly put a lot of faith into these men you love, don't you?" Eponine said cynically. "'He won't go if I ask him not to,' 'he'll say yes if I ask him' bah!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Cosette said with strength. "Neither of them have given me reason to distrust."

Eponine's desire to claim that she was sleeping with Marius was even stronger then, but again she suppressed it with a roll of her eyes.

"Anyway, enough chatter. I'm going to get you some boy's clothes to wear so you can go about the streets better at night, alright?"

"Do you need some money?" Cosette asked.

"No- for future reference, _Mademoiselle,_ you don't need to pay someone five francs to mail a letter."

With that, Eponine departed, her tiny figure swallowed up in the men's clothing, her movements lithe and quiet as a cat as she ran down the street.

Cosette was left staring out the bars of the gate in astonishment. She'd never met anyone like that girl before.

* * *

**Thoughts?**


	2. Chapter 2: Rescue

Cosette was not sure what to do. After Eponine left, she and her father had quickly moved out of the house on the rue Plumet and into an apartment across town. That was what her letter to Marius had been about- come to the apartment, not the garden. Cosette had remembered to yell this out to Eponine, so surely the girl knew where to come tonight.

But Cosette was terrified- she supposed Eponine had been right. She was lying to her father by seeing Marius... but Marius wasn't _dangerous._ Her papa wanted her to obey him so that she would be safe. And running out into the streets with a rough-looking stranger while fights were going on... well, that was not safe. Her heart picked up, thinking of angry men shooting each other... she would be walking into that.

Guns. Death, blood... she hated violence. And _Marius_ was there! The thought made her stomach heave and it was enough for her to overcome her fear. She had to save him. But there be another way?

She wrote in her journal on the couch in the living room for upwards of an hour, trying to organize her thoughts.

"Cosette!" her papa cried, coming into the room. She had just enough time to hide the journal under a pillow before he called her to eat dinner.

The clock ticked off the time, and Cosette thought she was going to die of fright. Surely her Papa would notice something was wrong, surely he would hear her sneak out... but no. The clock struck midnight, and Cosette opened the door out into the night.

* * *

"Hey there," Eponine said gruffly, throwing a soft pile at Cosette. "Here's for you. And put your hair up into the hat. No point in dressing you like a fellow if you've got that hair sticking out."

"Right," Cosette said. "Should I go back inside...?"

"No, don't be daft- your father will catch you. Wait until we walk past some alley or something."

Cosette nodded, and followed the girl. Eponine moved expertly in the night, her footsteps barely making a noise against the cobblestones. Cosette's heart was pounding loud enough to let her father know of her escape- she'd never been out alone before, always going out with either her Papa or Toussaint. True, this girl was with her... but Cosette couldn't help wondering where this girl's loyalties lay- surely not with her, Cosette. But if she was loyal to Marius, surely she could be trusted, couldn't she? Either way, Cosette would have been more comfortable with her father.

"Here," Eponine said- the street they were on was deserted. An empty and rather seedy looking storefront was the only inhabitant, and Eponine nodded for Cosette to go behind the back of the store and change. Cosette gave a protesting look- undress in public! But Eponine rolled her eyes.

_She's probably never even seen **herself **naked, _Eponine thought, and laughed out loud. Cosette heard this, but didn't want to ask.

"Just leave your clothes back there," Eponine said. "We'll have nowhere to put them later." Cosette had feared this, and had worn an old ugly dress with an ill-fitting bodice, one she did not mind losing.

When she emerged again in the men's clothing, tucking her brown curls into a newsboy's cap, Eponine wanted to laugh again. The boy's clothes looked fine of the Thenardier girl- she was thin and boxy and had more of a boy's shape. But on Cosette they were awful. She was several sized bigger than Eponine, for one. And she had hips! The pants looked odd on her, meant for a straighter form.

"Well, you won't exactly pass for a boy, but you'll do from a distance," Eponine said dryly. "Just make your voice sound masculine or something."

Eponine led the girl further into the city, into the section of Paris where the fighting would be held, reliving the past few hours. At nine o'clock she had been in the rue Plumet, where Marius, believing himself alone and unwatched, had made rather a fool of himself once he discovered Cosette was not there. He banged on the shutters and called out the stupid girl's name...

Humans were idiotic, Eponine knew. Fate was just too easy to manipulate, and Marius and Cosette were daft creatures. Here was Cosette, politely and trustingly following Eponine to her death because of a few well-aimed phrases of coercion. And Marius believed Cosette no longer loved him, just because Eponine still held Cosette's letter in her pocket. The two had made some dreadful mistakes.

"So," Eponine said, breaking the silence and wanting to drive Cosette a little mad before she let her go at the barricades. Best try to torment the girl a little before she had her chance with Marius- after all, she could have some fun first. "What do you and Marius do in that garden of yours?"

"Pardon?" Cosette asked, sounding taken aback. Eponine still wanted to laugh at her. Now her mouth was open wide in surprise, her large blue eyes rounded, as she stared at Eponine in surprise. She was walking funny, too, because of the pants and boots she wasn't used to wearing.

"Do you just sit there and argue about which one of you is prettier?" Eponine continued.

Cosette did not answer her, just looked upwards and forward in the direction they were walking.

_Hmm, _thought Eponine. _So she has some dignity._

"Suppose that's all you can do, Mademoiselle?" she said with acid. Again Cosette ignored her. "He's like you, though... for now. He'll grow bored eventually..."

Cosette felt a stab of anger, and looked at the other girl, fire in her eyes. Cosette understood, now- Eponine was not bringing her to the barricades so she could rescue Marius and be with him, but simply so Marius would not die. Once Cosette had brought him out of the barricades, Eponine would try and make him fall for her...

Well, Cosette could do nothing about Eponine's affection for Marius. She could not control the other girl, and the other girl couldn't control her feelings. _Best worry about that later,_ thought Cosette. _It's more important to rescue Marius now, and think about any complications later._

So she just continued walking with Eponine in the dark. About twenty minutes later, Eponine asked Cosette another question. This time her voice was soft and tender, and she sounded as though she was admitting a secret when she asked this of Cosette.

"What kind of things does he say to you?" Eponine whispered, not looking at Cosette. "Nice things, I'll bet."

Cosette did not want to look at the girl, knowing her suspicions were confirmed. But she answered honestly as they walked side by side. "Yes. Nice things. He speaks softly, and he tells me the things he does during the day, about his friends and the books he reads, about his studies... He asks about my life, and we make plans. Silly ones- like places we'll travel to, extravagant experiences we'll have... things that probably won't ever happen. It's just fun to plan... And then he says he loves me." Cosette's voice broke, lost in the thoughts of the garden and the wonderful hours spent there, imagining what would happen if she got to the barricade too late.

She heard something beside her, a broken sound. "Oh," Eponine said softly, her voice sounding swollen, like she was crying. "Of course. Right."

The smaller, thinner girl pulled ahead, walking in front of Cosette so she could not see Eponine's face. Cosette looked at the back of the girl's thin shoulders with pity- she sounded even more pained than Cosette could remember being. Would she be strong enough to go on, life as usual, if Marius did not love her anymore?

_It's not the same, _Cosette tried to tell herself. _If he never loved you, it wouldn't hurt as much than if he did, and one day he stopped._

But still, she wasn't so sure.

They walked on in the night, both hearing the shots cut through the silence. With every _crack! _Cosette wondered if someone's life had just ended. She prayed that her time at the barricade would be short, prayed she was doing the right thing and that she would see no one die while she was there. She could not bear to watch someone die.

* * *

"Alright," Eponine said about a half mile later, pushing Cosette up to the side of a building. She'd not been expecting the little girl to have so much strength, and her shoulders cut into the stone. "Here's the plan. The street where Marius is fighting it just one block that way, running parallel to where we are," Eponine said, pointing. "Men are coming and going at this time, still, and we shouldn't be stopped."

Cosette gulped.

"If we came two hours from now then we'd be arrested and shot, and a few hours before, we'd never find Marius, the chaos would be ghastly." _And because he probably just got here himself._

_"_So you're going to go down this street here," Eponine said, and Cosette looked down the street she was pointed to. She could see onto the next street- the light orange from the glow of fire and gunpowder, and disrupted dust from the streets. Screams, yells, shots. "Careful you're not seen. The barricade you want to climb is right to your left once you emerge from the alley-"

"_Climb?"_ Cosette exclaimed.

"Yes, you silly girl!" Eponine said. "The rebels- that's Monsieur Marius and his friends- are on the other side. You'll need to climb the barricade. But don't worry, you'll be perfectly safe. I'll be right behind you this whole time. Once you get to the other side, throw up your hands to tell them you're not there to attack. Ask for Marius- they'll all know him."

Cosette gulped, but nodded her head. It had to be done.

"Now... let's go," Eponine said, gently pushing on Cosette's back. Cosette nodded, her face white as a sheet, her knees shaking. She'd never been more afraid in her life.

"He's going to be so angry with me," Cosette whispered to herself, closing her eyes and imagining Marius' furious face when he saw her admits the fighting... then her father's face, should he ever find out where she was tonight. But she shook away these thoughts- some anger for Marius was a fair trade in order for him to keep his life.

"Go!" Eponine said, and then Cosette took off at a run. Eponine hung back, watching the other girl, and then turned and left. She knew she had to enter the barricade from someplace else- climbing over from the soldier's side would be suicide.

Cosette kept running, and then heard shouts as she emerged. But she ignored the yells and the soldiers, throwing her arms over her head and starting to run up the barricade, her feet finding holds amid the stacked stones, chairs, and pieces of wood. She could not catch her breath, and she could see every dust particle floating the air, feel the pounding of the blood in her ears. Her heart seemed to pump life into her body with more conviction than it ever had before. She used her hands to pull herself up further, watching them shake but not able to feel them. Then she'd reached the top. More screams were coming now as the rebels could see her, but she did not look to see if she could recognize any of them.

She chanced a glance backwards, looking down the barricade to where Eponine must be. She was not there.

Cosette looked back at the mouth of the alley where they had been standing moments ago- the girl was not there.

She was abandoned.

* * *

**Thoughts?**


	3. Chapter 3: A Wound

Cosette started to shake, and suddenly her joints and limbs seized up. Her stomach felt twisted and fever pounded on her temples, and the world was no longer real. She heard screams, men's voices yelling at her from both sides of the barricade, but she could not move. Stranded at the top of the barricade, her feet unable to move, unable to climb down.

_But they won't shoot me at least, _Cosette thought. _They won't shoot a woman._

But with a terrible feeling of abandon, she remembered she was dressed as a man. From far away, they won't realize who she was.

"Get down!" she heard a yell from the rebels' side of the barricade. "_Move!"_

Men were yelling at her, some voices telling her how to save herself, others screaming orders- she could not hear, she didn't understand the harsh tones of their voices. She was stuck. She shook so terribly that the earth looked like it as moving, and she knew she would never make it down, never, not unless someone climbed up onto the barricade and brought her down himself. She prayed Marius hadn't seen her yet.

"Oh my goodness," she prayed, her voice shaking and tears falling directly from her eyes nad landing on the dusty pieces of wood she was splayed across. "Father, father please forgive me! Papa... I don't want to die... I hope you'll forgive me, Papa. I disobeyed you... I didn't want to..." She sobbed convulsively, but could not utter another word, for she was suddenly thrown from the barricade.

Cosette had heard of trains before, huge metal masses that thundered across tracks with the force of hundreds of horses. But the force that knocked into her arm was not that of one train, but of thousands. She cried out, and was thrown from her crouched position atop the barricade. She rolled down, tumbling and crashing and falling against the table legs and stones that stabbed and beat into her back, until she landed on the stones of the street, winded and unable to breathe, the pain all over her body nothing to the pain in her arm.

She screamed, her left arm on fire, the pain both internal and that of broken bones, and external, broken skin. "Help!" she cried.

She opened her eyes desperately, and saw her white shirt was now red, covered in her blood. _I've been shot, _she thought, and focused on not being sick. She could not take in any of her surrounding, the world span, she tried to hold onto her consciousness for she knew if she let go, she would never recover.

Suddenly she was surrounded by boots- men were crowded around her, talking in their low voices. She scrunched into herself, trying to protect herself and her wound. She did not want them to move her or touch her, the pain was to great... she just wanted to die.

_Papa,_ she thought, _papa I wish I'd asked you to come with me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry._

"Damn!" someone yelled. "It's a girl!"

"What?" she heard another voice yell.

"Dressed as a boy." The man nearest to her crouched down so she could see his face, but she couldn't focus on it. "What the hell are you doing here, dear?"

He spoke softly, kindly, but she could barely concentrate.

"I..." she choked out, but the words ended in another sob.

"My name is Joly," he whispered to her. "I studied medicine. I won't hurt you, I promise. I want to help you. Will you let me see your arm?"

She thought for a moment, but he sounded kind enough. She relented, trusting more easily than she usually would have, but giving in for the pain was too great. If he seemed like he wanted to help her, she had to trust him, for she had little other chance of surviving.

She heard the tearing of cotton, and realized this Joly was removing her sleeve, which had already been torn by the bullet. She gasped when she saw her arm- mangled and bloody and not looking like an arm at all.

"Pierced through the flesh," he murmured to himself. "She needs a doctor, there's too much bleeding, but the wound looks workable." He addressed her again. "Young lady, you shall live. But whatever made you come here?" She did not answer him.

This Joly stayed near her as other men crowded around her. She wanted them to leave- their words were not ones she understood, and they frightened her.

At the moment, Marius and Courfeyrac were about forty yards away, sitting against a wall and conversing weakly. The fighting had ceased for the time being. Marius felt ill, the world had ceased to be real. But he knew one thing: he'd just shot a man. Not thirty minutes ago, he'd shot a man. Courfeyrac had been fighting when he arrived, and a man was about to kill his best friend, and Marius had shot him.

He hadn't killed him, but he'd injured him perhaps beyond repair. It was worth it, for his friend's life... but the thought still made him hate himself.

hey had heard the yells, and looked up at the barricade. "Looks like some teenager," Courfeyrac remarked. Marius agreed- the person climbing the barricade too small to be a man, too large to be a boy.

But he did not care much. It seemed perfectly natural to him that anyone, even a teenager, would want to die. The world was cruel.

"Don't shoot!" Courfeyrac yelled out at the rest of the men on the rebels' side. "It's just a kid!"

"Hold your fire," Enjolras said commandingly. Marius turned his attention back to the ground, determined not to think.

He only woke up again when Courfeyrac stood, straining to look at the wounded young man who was surrounded by a knot of their friends.

"What the hell..." Courfeyrac said, glimpsing the body from a gap in the crowd. The boy's hat had flown off when he'd fallen, and it was not boy at all. A tail of long, curly brown hair had falling from beneath the hat, tied with a ribbon. "That's no teenaged boy! It's a woman," Courfeyrac said angrily.

"What?" Marius said, standing up and trying to look. He could not see. "What kind of man let's his wife come to a barricade?"

Courfeyrac shook his head. "Poor lady."

The crowd opened again, and Marius caught sight of Joly crouched by the girl's head, looking at her arm...

Marius felt time stop for a moment, and then swoop back in, his heart skipping several beats and sickness rushing into his stomach. His face turned chalk-white.

Cosette was here. _Here,_in hell, in the inferno. Two hours ago, in the rue Plumet, he'd had given years off his life to see her again. Well, he'd been prepared to give his life because he would never see her again. But now, he'd give anything to have her anywhere but there. He'd rather she was in England, never to see him again, than here, surrounded by this anger and violence.

And she'd been shot. He didn't know if she was fatally injured, dead or alive, and he took off at a a run. Courfeyrac yelled his name, but he did not turn. He pushed his way through the crowd of men around her, and fell to his knees beside her.

Her eyes were shut, but he whispered her name over and over again, in a frenzy.

She fluttered her lids, and then opened them. "Marius," she whispered, her voice barely there.

"_What _are you doing here?" he said harshly, anger pulsing through his veins to mask over his panic. "Who in _hell _brought you here? Whatever made you think this was a good idea? Cosette, this is beyond stupid, you being here. I swear, you don't belong here, there's nothing here for you but a bullet, which I see you already received. You shouldn't be out alone anyway, let _alone _at night! This is without considering that you had the idiot's idea to come _here _of all places. What were you thinking? I swear-"

"Marius," Joly said, interrupting. "You're not helping."

Cosette's eyes were closed again.

"Oh God..." he muttered. "What have I done?"

"Nothing," Cosette said softly. "Not your fault."

"I need to move you," Joly said to Cosette. "You can't stay here, it's too dangerous. I have to take you inside to dress your wound."

"No," she protested, using all her energy to move her injured arm away from him. The thought of moving was too painful- it send phantom shocks up her already ruined arm. "Don't touch me... Let me stay here."

Joly looked at Marius for help- if it was necessary, Joly could just lift her without her permission, but he didn't want her to protest. Any kind of thrashing would just cause damage.

"Cosette," Marius whispered in her ear. "Will you let me?"

She stayed still, keeping her eyes closed, for a long time. But then she nodded very weakly.

"Thank you. Alright, come on," he said, trying not to think of how her shirt was covered in her blood. "Up you go," he said gently, easing one of his hands under her shoulders and helping her to sit up so he could get his arm under her. Then he reached his other arm beneath her knees. "You're going to be fine, dear. I have you here, you're safe, darling... Don't be scared. Don't weep."

He heard Courfeyrac behind him, telling the others to get out of the way. Then they entered the tavern they'd taken over as a place to nurse the wounded, and Courfeyrac cleared off a table that Marius set Cosette down on. Joly instructed to Marius to have her sit up, so he sat beside her. She leaned on him, unable to sit up straight. Joly was on her other side, examining her arm. Courfeyrac stood in front of the three, blocking them from view and not allowing the curious yet unhelpful people to come investigate.

"We need lint," Joly said.

"We don't have any for her," Marius heard a voice say. "It's all for the rebels."

He glared. "_Get_ her some!"

"There is none!"

"Here," one of the rebels said- not one of the main rebels, but a man who'd wandered into the barricades. "Just rip some off the shirt," he said, leering. "If she's a bloke, that is, doesn't matter, does it?" He reached, but Marius caught his hand venomously.

"Don't you dare," he said darkly. Courfeyrac shoved the man away, and Marius looked at his friend in grateful surprise.

He heard a tearing sound, and then saw Courfeyrac ripping his remaining sleeve off. He'd already gotten rid of the first earlier. Marius had been grazed with a bullet on his side very shallowly, and Courfeyrac had given his sleeve for a bandage. Now they were both gone. Marius nodded at him, and then gently pushed Cosette off him so he could unbutton his vest. He untucked his shirt and tore the bottom off it, producing a long strip of cotton. She glanced at him, and saw the huge tear in the side of his shirt.

"You're hurt," she whispered, seeing the bloodstains on him. "I'm too late..."

"You came her to save me?" he asked, bewildered.

"Yes, why else?" she asked as if it was obvious.

"I'm going to take you home as soon as we get an all-clear," he murmured angrily at her. "And then I will see to it that your father never lets you out again, because you come with foolish ideas like this... what could you have done here but get injured?"

She had no answer- the truth was she'd had no plan for once she got here. Eponine had brought her, that was all.

He just sighed and shook his head.

"Here," Courfeyrac said, offering his sleeve to Joly, who took it with the part of Marius' shirt and began to bandage Cosette up.

"Thank you," Marius said to his friend, who shrugged. Then Marius started thinking of logistics- how would he get her home? He had no money for a fiacre, and she could not walk, she would faint. Yes, he had carried her into the tavern, but that was just a few yards. He could not carry her all the way home, which was miles away. He was not strong enough. For the time being, he waited with Cosette, talking to her to keep her calm and hoping to God that she could get to a doctor before she bled too much.

"Marius," Courfeyrac said softly, trying not to catch Cosette's attention, whose eyes were closed but who seemed to be conscious.

His friend looked up, and Courfeyrac continued. "I take it you're not going to stay here, with us, and finish it off."

Marius gaped, realizing that when he left, his friend would not leave with him. Hours ago, he'd been so incoherent, thinking only of how he wanted to die because he did not have Cosette. But when she was right next to him, he could think properly. Courfeyrac would die here.

"I can't," Marius said, his voice strained. "I have to take her home."

His friend nodded and looked away. Marius did not say anything more for the time being, not wanting to think about saying goodbye. They still had time yet before he and Cosette could leave, and he would say goodbye then.

Forever.

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	4. Chapter 4: Valjean

Jean Valjean sighed contentedly and shut the curtains on the dark night. The move across town had been successful- he felt safe already, confident that the police did not know where he was. Cosette was asleep in her bedroom, having retired early. Yes, she'd seemed rather upset and edgy earlier, but she was probably just in a mood. Overall, their move to England would bring happiness.

He sighed and retrieved a book from the trunk Cosette packed for him. He knew there was fighting on the streets, but it did not concern him. The night, to him, was peaceful. Not wanting to retire yet, Valjean took his book into the living room and sat down on the couch.

He was trying to settle down comfortably, but there was something in the couch. He felt something poking into him. So he stood up and began to adjust the pillows. Indeed, something _was_ underneath the pillows. A notebook. An _open _notebook, for that matter, with pages covered in Cosette's handwriting. Her diary. He remembered walking into the living room a few hours ago seeing her adjusting the pillows nervously, obviously wanting privacy. Now he knew why. She'd been writing. Still, there was no cause to be alarmed. He did not care what was in her silly diary- the thoughts of a young girl were light and beautiful, he thought. Cosette was a happy child. She had no reason to be upset.

But the first sentence caught his eye. "_I have never been so scared in my entire life,"_ her loopy handwriting read. Valjean gingerly picked up the small leather book in his large hands, instantly nervous. He didn't want her to walk in and find him reading her diary. But still, he picked it up.

_I have never been so scared in my life,_ he read. _I don't know what to do. I can't just let him do something like this to himself, because of me. To die! Oh, Marius! _

Valjean's heart failed for a second. Marius? Who was this?

He read on.

_I've never lied to my father before, except to see Marius. But how horrid of a lie is that? Just to see him? Anyway, to leave the house to find Marius and bring him home before something terrible happens, now that is really lying. But I cannot leave Marius there. I just can't let him die. The thought of being without him is painful enough- to think of him not existing... I can't even imagine it._

_I wish I could ask Papa for help. But I couldn't bear that either. He's never denied me anything, and I know if I asked him to go to the barricades and bring Marius home, he would. But that girl said it was dangerous, said people would die. How selfish would I be if I sent my papa to risk his life to save Marius? No, I must do it myself._

_Part of me also knows that there is possibility that whoever goes to rescue Marius might die. And I know that I would die for Marius . But there is not a possibility that I can ask Papa to. I can't lose Papa, too. Oh, if I sent Papa after Marius and neither came back...! And besides, on a practical note- Marius doesn't even know Papa. If he's in any kind of mood to rival the one he was in two nights ago, he won't go with Papa, he'll only go home if I bring him. _

_So I must go. I pray Papa doesn't find out. And I pray that Marius comes home safe._

Valjean dropped the diary in shock, his hands unmoving. Cosette! She had a lover, but more importantly, she was _going to the barricades!_

_"_Cosette!" he called through the apartment he knew must be empty. _"Cosette!"_

_She must be here, _he thought. _She's just a girl. There is no possibility that she's in love. She's too young to love... And even if she thinks she's in love, she's too young to act on it this way, and make such an impulsive decision. Whoever this is who she's going after to save, he's not worth it!_

But when he knocked on her bedroom door, no one answered. He opened it- the bed was empty and made up neatly. Cosette was gone.

* * *

"How much longer do we have to stay?" Cosette said, her voice weak and soft.

"Just until the fighting stops," Marius said, praying it was soon. "The soldiers only shoot at us in spurts- they'll end this attack soon and then we won't be attacked again until morning, I assume. We'll leave soon, I promise."

Cosette nodded and leaned against Marius, her breathing shallow and fast. "Why did you come here?"

"Because you weren't in the rue Plumet," Marius answered.

"But... that's strange," Cosette said. "Eponine told me that you were planning on fighting earlier this afternoon."

"Eponine?" Marius said suspiciously.

"Yes... she was outside my gate. I gave her a letter for you, telling you where I was. That was at around one in the afternoon. She told me she'd seen you and that you had planned to go to the barricade."

"But I didn't decide to come here until after nightfall, when you weren't in our garden," Marius said. "She was there. She told me my friends were waiting for me, and I don't know, I thought I'd lost you forever, all I wanted was for the pain to end."

"She tricked us," Cosette said, tears pricking into her eyes in anger. "She tricked you into coming here-"

"And she brought you," Marius said, livid. "Where is she?"

"I haven't seen her," Cosette said. "Not since just before I climbed over. Wait- there."

Cosette pointed at a thin girl coming through the doorway. Marius did not recognize Eponine at first, and then saw her familiar face, searching the room until she saw him. The pitying look that had been planted on her face slid of, replaced by one of panic and shock when she saw Cosette, alive. Quickly, she replaced the expression again, furrowing her brows.

"Cosette!" she called, running over to the two. "You're hurt!"

"Get out of here," Marius said.

"What? Monsieur, there is no need to-"

"Leave us!" he said.

"No- wait," Cosette said. Marius turned his head to look at her. "If she hadn't brought me here, there is no way you'd be coming home," she said weakly. "So... for that, Eponine-"

"Don't say thank you," Marius said, glaring at Eponine. "Don't."

"See that she leaves without getting hurt," Cosette pleaded, for as angry as she should be with the other girl, she wasn't.

"Cosette, I can't just _go-"_

"I can be alone for five minutes," she said.

He had no desire to be anywhere near Eponine at this time. Not when Cosette was hurt, and _especially_ not when it was Eponine's fault. If she were a man, it would be a different story. But Marius couldn't _hit _her!

"I just wanted to-"

"Be quiet."

She was silent for a minute before talking again as they rounded the corner of the street, where Eponine could leave the barricades. He stopped and looked at her.

"I wanted you to come home," she said weakly.

"And you thought that sending..." he couldn't even bear to say Cosette's name in front of Eponine. But 'Mademoiselle' just didn't fit anymore. "That sending her would make me want to come _home?_ You _knew_ she would get shot! You're goddamn lucky you didn't get shot."

"I don't know what I was-"

"Just _get out of here,"_ he spat, and then turned and ran back to where Cosette was.

Eponine stared after him for a minute, wanting to follow. Her heart felt like there was an empty place where it should be. Now she realized her idea had been stupid- if Cosette had died, there would be no chance that he would have been comforted by anything she had done. Still. One could hope.

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**More coming soon, I promise! Thoughts?**


	5. Chapter 5: Deus ex Machina

Marius ran back into the tavern and found Cosette. Courfeyrac was talking to her, and at first Marius was suspicious, but his friend was just being kind. He was telling her about Marius. He said a few stories that made her smile and calmed her down.

Marius took his seat beside her again. Joly came back into the tavern and said that the fighting was still going on. Courfeyrac looked as though he wanted to join them- after all, he was truly a member of the ABC society. Marius looked at him for a long time, and then nodded.

"Thank you," Marius said. "For everything. For your friendship, the space in your apartment, and for your help tonight. I..."

"Don't even try to pay gratitude," Courfeyrac said with a wink. "I know you won't be able to express it fully."

Marius smiled weakly. "I'm going to miss you, my friend."

"And I you, monsieur l'abbe. Though... not so, it seems," Courfeyrac nodded at Cosette.

"Thank you for being kind to her," Marius said in a low voice so Cosette could not hear. "And for not... using your usual charms."

Courfeyrac gave a laugh. "No- I do have limits, and I wouldn't try anything on a friend's lady. But I must say to you... work fast, Marius. She's fresh and young now, but if you wait too long she'll get impatient and leave. Don't think too hard on this."

Marius shook his head.

"So... I suppose this is it?" Courfeyrac said, straightening up. Cosette looked at him, her eyes wide.

"Sorry?" she said to Courfeyrac, not understanding. "Monsieur... you are leaving?"

He gave a dry smile. Marius looked away, not able to look at either of them, because it would mean he was accepting that his friend was going to walk to his death.

"My lovely Mademoiselle. I am afraid so," he said simply. He very gently took the hand that was not attached to her injured arm and kissed it, and then nodded his head. "I am very glad I was able to meet you before I had to depart. Your Marius is a good man. Please see to it that he laughs at least once a day."

He couldn't resist from acting on that promise right then, and whispering in Marius' ear: "And see to it that she's naked with you. Soon."

Marius hit him in the arm, blushing, but Courfeyrac continued.

"Of course, with a ring on her finger," he said, bringing his hands together satirically, as if in prayer. "But when that blessed time comes, my friend, think of me."

"I hope to have other things on my mind," Marius said, laughing for the first time that night, "than you. Not to hurt your feelings, my friend."

"No, no. That's what I like to hear, Marius," he said. He drew his friend into an embrace and smartly kissed his cheeks. "Adieu, Mademoiselle. Marius."

Then, he took his leave.

Marius watched Courfeyrac turn and go. He turned back to Cosette and rested his forehead against her hair, so he could shut his eyes and just not see. There was too much pain. He'd lost everything.

Cosette was leaving. Seeing her again did not change that. But now she was hurt, and in taking her home, he'd lost his honorable way to die. Once he escorted her home and stayed long enough to know she would be alright- he could not die until he knew she would be alright- the fighting would be over. He could not die with his friends, for his country. He could not die and make his father proud.

But Cosette would still be gone. He would have not find another way to go, for staying on earth without her, without anyone, was not an option.

Still. This time with her- these extra few minutes, were worth the extra suffering. He could actually say goodbye.

"I love you," he whispered. "Forever. Even when you're in England. Even when I die. I will still love you."

"You're not going to die, Marius," she said, her voice shaking. "Don't say that."

"Don't worry," he said lightly to distract her. "I'm going to take you home. Don't worry. How do you feel?"

"Scared. I don't want you to talk like that."

"I meant your arm," he said, avoiding the subject.

"Well, it hurts. What do you expect me to feel?"

He almost laughed. "Please don't go away," he begged. "Don't leave me."

Her eyes filled with tears. She felt so out of control- she had no choice in the matter, and that made it so much worse. Marius was desperate for her to help the situation, yet she had no way to change anything.

"If you're worried about staying here," he continued, as though that was her problem. "I promise I'll never leave you. I know you don't want to leave your father, but honestly. He won't be in England forever, will he? You could stay in the rue plumet, he could visit, I could see you... I asked my grandfather if I could marry you, and true, he said no... but that's only until I'm twenty-five. Once I'm old enough, I promise I'll-"

"You asked to marry me?" she said in wonder.

"Why- yes. That's where I was last night, when I did not come to see you."

"You did not tell me that."

"I did not know if he would say yes. I didn't want to say anything, because he might have said no... which he did. But like I said, if you stay here, we can wait a few years just as we are and I promise to marry you then-"

"Marius," she said gently. "I don't think any of this is going to help. But we shall trust in God, yes?"

He did not answer.

* * *

A half hour later, Marius was growing more and more anxious by the second.

"We have to get out of here!" he said. Cosette was horribly pale. He'd found some water to give her, but what she really needed was a doctor.

People were coming in and out of the tavern, and he practically fainted with relief when a young student came bursting in.

"The fighting's stopping! In just a minute you should be able to go."

"Thank you!" he called to them, and then faced Cosette.

"Oh, dear, oh Cosette, we can leave now. I'm going to take you home, to your father," he said, helping her sit up.

"I can't... move," she said weakly.

"I know," he said, trying not to let the panic come into his voice. "I know, my love, I know... Oh, God..."

He tried to lift her, and succeeded, but she was dead weight. She would not even put an arm around his neck to support herself at all. She sagged, too much blood coming form her wound. He would not be able to make it home. He set her back on the table, saving his strength for when they would make a run out of the barricades. He kept his arm around her, keeping her sitting up to keep her blood flow as normal as possible. Her head lolled, her eyes half-closed, dangerously weak.

"Cosette," he whispered, to no one in particular.

_If only I could convince a fiacre driver to take us to her father. Surely he'd pay him then._

But even the distance to finding a fiacre would be too long. Any intelligent citizen would be staying far clear of these dangerous streets. And any time lost could be fatal to her.

"Dear God," he prayed. "Please... we need help..."

"Pardon," he heard a student say, and a low voice answered.

"Is there a Monsieur Marius here?" the low voice said, and Marius turned. His heart nearly stopped.

There, in the doorway, was a very large, white-haired man.

"It's me," Marius forced out, his voice soft with surprise, mixed with the panic and the emotional drainage of the night.

Cosette's father looked at him for a moment, before his eyes drifted. Marius watched as Cosette's father observed his daughter, white and dead-looking, her arm shot and mangled, laying almost-unconscious on the table.

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	6. Chapter 6: The Doctor

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Monsieur Fauchelevent stood stock still for a short moment, and then quickly regained speed. He ran- or well, _ran_ would not be the best term. More like 'thundered' towards Marius and Cosette. His giant arms knocked Marius out of the way and he gently lifted Cosette of the table.

"Papa...?" she said, her voice weak and confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't try to talk, Cosette," he said. "Don't use your energy. The fighting's over. We're leaving."

Marius stood there, dejected and confused, as the large man turned and began to leave with Cosette. Maybe he would not see her home after all. He really could die here at the barricades with all his friends.

But he couldn't let her leave yet- he had to say goodbye first!

He ran after them, but he heard Cosette's feeble voice before he reached them. But this time, it did not sound so feeble- she sounded as though she was using all her strength to talk.

"Papa, you must put me down this instant."

"Cosette don't be silly-"

"I'm not leaving without Marius," she said stubbornly. Marius' inside jumped- she loved him, she really truly did! But what if she stayed too long and got hurt because of him?

"You'll leave _now,"_ her father said.

"Then he comes with us," she said, turning her head to look at him.

Marius crossed the rest of the space and stood beside them both. He looked at Cosette and then they both turned and looked at her father.

"Fine. But don't slow us down," he said gruffly. "We're leaving now."

Marius was glad he'd already said goodbye to Courfeyrac, so his journey out was quick and he had no regrets. He pushed away the panicked thoughts of what he would do after this was over- after Cosette was seen by a doctor and healthy again, and he was once again alone when she travelled to England. For now, he could only think of the present.

It was early enough in the fighting that, once Marius removed the revolutionary flag that he'd tied round his waist, they could run through the streets without stopping. Marius marveled at how Monsieur Fauchelevent refused to tire- he was a large man, yes, but he was old. His hair was brilliantly white, and he looked to be in his sixties. They ran through the streets at a clipping pace, both men, young and old, rushing to get Cosette medical attention. For his part, the gash in Marius' side started to bleed again because of the running, and he felt the pain anew. He pushed that thought away, though.

Monsieur Fauchelevent said almost nothing all the way to their apartment, but once they passed a darkened house, he turned to Marius.

"A doctor lives there. I called on him once when Cosette was ill. Please knock on the door and bring him the rest of the way." Cosette's father told him their new address.

Marius nodded, and then he turned his back on Cosette and her father and went to the doctor's front door. He always hated knocking on people's doors- to a shy person like him, he did not want to interrupt their personal life. However, this time it was necessary.

He knocked a few times loudly, and after a minute or two a middle-aged man came down in his dressing gown. Marius stuttered out a few words, but the doctor did not wait for him to finish. Obviously he was used to being called on in the night.

"Wait right there, monsieur," he said alertly. "I'll be ready in two minutes."

Marius barely had time to get antsy before the doctor came back in boots with a black bag, and asked him to lead the way. Marius had not been to this new apartment, but he new Paris well and was able to get them there within a few minutes. Cosette's father let them in, and then the real waiting began. They were all in the kitchen, and Marius and her father just watched as the doctor examined her wound and asked questions. She was crying and moaning in pain, and Marius felt helpless, watching lamely. The doctor cleaned her wound, and she started to cry even more. It was horrible.

_Stop! _he wanted to yell, but he knew that the doctor was only helping her. Cosette gripped his hand with her strong arm, and he was glad that at least he could take away some of the pain. He felt her father's eyes on their clasped hands, almost as though the man were jealous.

Finally the doctor straightened up. He turned to Cosette's father, and asked to speak with him privately. Marius saw no reason whatsoever they could not discuss whatever they needed to in front of he and Cosette. He simply needed to know what her prognosis would be! And Cosette- well, she of all people deserved to know what was wrong with her.

And then she could tell him what was wrong with her. But he was too nervous to ask Monsieur Fauchelevent.

Her eyes were drifting closed repeatedly, and she would open them with a start.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Just perfect," she said. "But I don't think I'll interrupt any more street fights soon."

"Go to sleep," he said softly. She was laying on the chaise lounge at this point with her feet propped up, her arm bandaged correctly.

"Wait just a minute," she said. "I will."

The doctor came back in then, and said a few quick things to Cosette about how she should sleep- lay flat on her back and make sure she never jostled her arm- and then told her he would be back the next day.

"Wait!" Cosette said. "Marius is hurt too."

"No, I'm not," he said instantly.

"Yes you are," she said impatiently. She gathered her strength and sat up straighter. "He's got a gash in his side."

The doctor looked at Marius, who did not answer.

"I'll go to bed and get rest if you promise to let him dress your wound," she said sternly. "Otherwise I'll just stay here, though it will probably make things worse for myself."

He glared at her for being stubborn, but submitted. Monsieur Fauchelevent helped her up the stairs while the doctor dressed his wound- it was not deep and did not take very long.

"See, it isn't serious," he told the doctor. "I'll be fine- there's no need-"

"It's not serious until it becomes infected," the doctor said as he cleaned the gash with a stinging liquid.

The doctor left soon after, and then Cosette's father came downstairs. He looked hard at Marius, and the young man's heart rate went up considerably. What on earth would the man say to him? Would he be angry that they had gone behind his back? Would he jump to a conclusion that was invalid? Would he banish him from Cosette? Would they still be leaving for England, now that Cosette was hurt? Surely...

"Come tomorrow morning," was all he said to Marius. "At ten."

Marius nodded, and left the house quickly, before the frightening man could change his mind.


	7. Chapter 7: A Stern Father

Marius returned home, exhausted. He must have been awake for almost forty-eight hours by now, and was feeling very ill. Not to mention, he himself had been shot and it was not an experience he wanted to relive, no matter how minor the wound was. He dragged himself up the stairs, and was halfway down the hallway when he jumped, finding someone was standing at the end, waiting for him.

The figure was familiar- too slender, thin baggy clothing hanging off the bones as if they were still in the bureau.

"Monsieur Marius," came the familiar croak.

"What is it you want?" he said harshly, without looking at her. He continued on his way until he got to his door, where she was waiting for him.

"Please," she said simply. "Will you listen to me?"

"No," he said, and brushed passed her. He opened his door and slammed it shut. He was surprised that it actually closed, though- he expected her to try and stop it.

He locked the door, something he almost never did. He hoped her could hear the click from where she was.

Then he looked about his apartment. An empty feeling sank through him as he looked at the majority of belongings strewn around the room- books, castaway shirts and ties, the blankets from one of the beds not made up. Courfeyrac.

Marius buried his head in his hands and slid down the wall behind him, despair seeping from his ever pore.

* * *

The next morning, he dressed himself and left, pushing any thought from his mind expect Cosette's well-being, for he could not stand to think of any of his other troubles: how he would pay rent now, how she was going away, how his best friend was dead.

When he arrived at Cosette's apartment, he knocked. Her father let him in, and led him into the empty kitchen.

Marius was afraid to talk to this man. He seemed to be both too good and yet have an angry, animal tendency to his manner buried deep. For someone young and innocent like Marius, anyone other than pure good was off-putting.

He made himself speak. "How is she?"

Monsieur Fauchelevent shrugged. "She is still asleep. But she did not rise during the night, so I assume her pain is tolerable."

Marius nodded. "It's understandable. For her to want to sleep," he added lamely.

"Please answer me completely honestly," Monsieur Fauchelevent said sternly. "Did you ask her to follow you to the barricades?"

"No!" Marius exclaimed, shocked and insulted.

"Did you tell her you were going there, or in any way give her the idea to go?"

"No, I did _not,_" Marius said certainly. "Monsieur, I promise you, I did nothing like that. I _could _do nothing like that- you must know, you cannot imagine what I felt when I realized she was there. It was-"

"No. _You_ cannot imagine what _I _felt when I realized she was there." He stared sternly at Marius, who suddenly felt the need to protest, to defend himself.

In a short period of time, two people had found out about he and Cosette- his grandfather and Cosette's father. Both had immediately doubted him.

Before he could defend himself, Monsieur was speaking again.

"What do you want from her?" he said harshly.

This time Marius really did get angry. "What do you mean, Monsieur, what do I _want_ from her? I don't want anything!"

What could he possibly want from her? It was not as though he was after her money or connections- she had none!

"Then why are you here?" he said coldly.

Marius had no idea why this man was being so cruel to him. After all, he had no reason to- Monsieur Fauchelevent was the one who had wanted to take Cosette away, who had caused all this anguish in the first place.

"I'm here because I love her," Marius said sternly. "And I wanted to marry her."

Monsieur Fauchelevent looked taken aback, shocked. Then he turned angry.

"What made you think that you could? That I would allow that?"

"Monsieur, I don't want to argue. It's not important anyway- my grandfather said no, I cannot marry her."

They fell silent for a long time. Marius realized why Monsieur Fauchelevent was angry with him, then, and it was for the same reason that he, Marius, was angry. Marius thought that Monsieur Fauchelevent was stealing Cosette away from him. Monsieur Fauchelevent thought that Marius was on the one stealing Cosette.

Who was right? Marius did not know- he hated to admit it, but Monsieur Fauchelevent was really the one who owned Cosette. She had been with him for years, her whole life. She'd only known Marius for a few months. But people weren't meant to live with their fathers forever, they were meant to marry. So who had the claim on her?

But Marius realized with a sick feeling in his stomach that he had been selfish in asking for Cosette's hand that way. What had he thought? That Cosette would stay here in Paris with him, and her father would go to England alone. He would separate them, stand between them. He really would be stealing her away from her father. A father who adored her, and a father who she adored. A father she might, perhaps, adore more than she loved Marius.

He shivered.

Monsieur Fauchelevent spoke again. "He said no?"

"Pardon?"

"Your grandfather. He said no, you could not marry her?"

Marius nodded.

"Why?" A faint note of pride was in Monsieur's voice. Despite the fact that he did not want Marius and Cosette to marry, the fact that anyone had deemed Cosette not worthy of marrying their grandson was insulting. As if Cosette was not worthy of this baffoon!

Marius looked down. "He said I was too young. And that neither of us have any money, and it would be foolish. He's wrong. It wouldn't matter that we don't have money-"

"No, you are wrong," Monsieur Fauchelevent said. "It does matter. Poverty can do horrid things to people, monsieur. But did you argue with him?"

"I left. He said..." Marius could not bring himself to say those words, both terrible and shameful, in front of Cosette's father. "He said something insulting, and I walked out. I doubt I am welcome back."

Monsieur Fauchelevent said nothing, and seemed to be deep in thought.

Some time later, the doctor arrived, and he and Monsieur went into Cosette's room, leaving Marius alone. They came out and he learned that Cosette had a fever and he would not be allowed to see her until it went down.

"If it goes down," he heard the doctor mutter to himself.

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**Sorry for the long time without an update! Please, review!**


	8. Chapter 8: Arguments

When Marius returned home, he felt as though he himself had a fever. The doctor had declared Cosette unconcious- one of those boughts of fainting that people don't always recover from. Marius wanted to... he didn't knwo what he wanted to do. He wanted to break something, to scream, to break down and cry like a child.

He did none of those things. Instead he walked himself home and remained upright.

He felt anger wash over him when he reached his apartment and saw that wretched character was there again.

"Get out," he said sternly, standing at the far end of the hall and not even wanting to look at her.

"Monsieur, I-!"

"No. I don't want to see you," he said. He remembered his urge to break something, remembered that Eponine had brought Cosette to her injured state...

HIs anger shocked him, and his hands started to shake. He felt shameful. As evil as what she'd done was, he could not hurt someone, and he could not do anything else to this horrible girl.

"Just go home, Eponine," he said quietly. "And leave me."

She stayed where she was. Frustrated, Marius walked to the end of the hallway and opened the door to his room, slamming it once more.

* * *

For a week, Eponine continued to assault him at his door. She left, yes, but always came back. If she was not there in the morning, she was there in the afternoon or at night. Marius was growing sick at the sight of her, but he could not bring himself to condescend to listen to her.

Cosette was still unconcious, and Marius had not yet been allowed to see her. One of the positives was that she only had one injury, and it was not to the head. But her arm injury was enough to keep her under for days.

One day when he came by as usual to inquire after her health, Monsieur Fauchelevent sat him down to talk.

"You're not going to stop coming here, are you?" he said, resigned.

"No," Marius said stubbornly.

"You must understand... I can't just... _trust._ Not when it comes to her. She's too special."

Marius did understand how he would feel that way. Cosette was too special, but indeed, any father- or any good father- should feel the same way. He would be somewhat alarmed if Monsieur Fauchelevent trusted him with Cosette straightoff. But wasn't it clear now that he did love her?

"How do I know that you really love her?" Monsieur said.

Marius blanched. Wasn't it obvious? "I'd die for her!" he blurted out.

"Ah. Of course," Valjean said. Bu then he leaned forward. "You are still a boy, Monsieur Pontmercy. That was not meant to be condescending," he said, holding up a hand. "But I just want you to know that there are things you don't yet understand. You say you'd die for her, as any lovestruck youth would say."

Marius thought angrily, "_Maybe many woudl say that, but how many mean it?" _But he held his tongue.

"But there are things worse than dying. If you died for her, it would be over within minutes. But what about losing her? Would you let her go if she'd be happier, married to someone else?"

Marius clenched his teeth. "I don't think she will," he said. "She loves me too, you know."

"She's seventeen," Valjean said. "She doesn't know what she wants."

"Are you saying she's flighty? Silly?" Marius said angrily.

"No. I'm saying she's young. And you still haven't answered my question. If she would be happier and better off with someone else, would you let her go?"

Marius sighed. The thought was so painful that he could barely entertain it- he knew what he would want to do, should the situation come about... but he also knew the decision he would end up making.

"Yes. Yes, I would," he said, resigned.

"And if going to England with her father is better for her, you wouldn't stand in her way, would you?" Monsieur said coldly.

Marius looked up sharply.

"That's not the same thing!"

"It is!" Monsieur Fauchelevent said. "She'd be better off with someone who could take care of her, someone who she knows would always love her."

Marius ignored that kibe, and tried to compromise. "I'm not asking to take her away from you!" he said. "I'm asking for you to not take her away from me!"

"_That_ is the same thing."

"It doesn't have to be- if you stayed here-"

"No. It does have to be that way. You... wouldn't understand."

Marius did not like to be assumed unintelligent. "It doesn't matter right now, anyway, does it? She's sick."

"I suppose you're right. Nothing can change until she gets better anyway." He stood. "You should be going."

"Fine. I shall see you tomorrow," Marius said, and then let himself out. On the way home, he contemplated how sick he was of arguing with Cosette's father. Maybe it was all useless. He could be completely wrong about many things- when she woke up, she might want nothing to do with him. No, she didn't want him to _die,_ and that's why she came to the barricades, but not wanting a person to die and loving them were two different things. Maybe, after she healed, she was planning on going to England with her father and never seeing her again, and he'd been overly proud in assuming she wanted to marry him.

"Monsieur Marius," he heard when he walked up to his apartment.

"No," he said sternly, and let himself inside.

* * *

**Reviews?**


	9. Chapter 9: Cosette Wakes

Cosette opened her eyes, and instantly closed them again, feeling the pounding of her head.

"Oh!" she said, and sat up in her bed, bring up a hand to touch her face. She gasped- pain shot through her arm when she tried to move. "What... Papa!" she cried out. "_Father!"_

It was only a moment or so before she heard footsteps in the hallway outside her door, and then it opened. Her father came into her bedroom, candle in his hand.

"Cosette! You're awake," he exclaimed, putting a hand to her forehead. "How do you feel?"

"My head hurts, and my arm hurts..." She was so confused. Was it nighttime? It must be. But where were they? "What... happened?" she forced out weakly.

"Don't you remember?" he said, his eyes concerned.

"I don't know," she said, frightened now. Had something happened to her brain, too? She had deluded, clouded memories of soft voices, wet clothes, and pain. Stern men's voices- a doctor? Obviously she'd been in bed a long time. But she didn't remember how she got there.

"The fighting?" he asked. "You snuck out, and there was fighting."

"Oh..." she said, the memories stirring. "Yes... yes, I do remember. I was shot, wasn't I?"

"You were," he said.

"What day is it?"

"June thirtieth," he said. "If it's past midnight."

She nodded, nausea filling her and making her head spin. She closed her eyes, finding that she felt better.

"Am I going to be alright?" she asked, her voice weak. The pain in her arm was pointing to a 'no.'

"Yes!" he said, trying his best to be reassuring, but sounding rather panicked. "Yes, yes you will! I've been praying for you to wake- why, from now on everything should be much better, that you're awake. The doctor was worried before- he said the wound was treatable, it's your fever he was worried about, but you're already recovering!" She nodded, and then remembered Marius. The whole reason she'd gone into the fighting- Marius, to keep him from doing something horrible when she went to England...

Her eyes opened suddenly and she sat up a little straighter, worried. She didn't know whether she could bring up Marius, because she didn't know what had happened since that night. Her father had been so angry! Maybe Marius had left, gone somewhere else...

Her eyes drifted in her thoughts, and her father sighed. It was obvious what she was thinking about- he was hoping she'd forgotten him. But from the look on her face, it was quite the opposite.

"He's come here every day," he said, resigned.

"He has?" she said, touched by this.

"Yes. And I fear we should tell him you're awake- he's been very worried, as I have. But that can wait until morning," he said, smiling serenely. Cosette lay back down. "God always comes through," he said, almost to himself, a hand on Cosette's head and tears spilling from his eyes, "Cosette, I was so scared..."

"Papa, it's alright! I'm going to be fine, just like you said."

"I know. I know," he said, finally breathing again. It had taken almost a month, but he was finally breathing again. Still inhibited, though- he would not be alright until Cosette was standing and walking as she used to.

"Why don't you try to go back to sleep?" he said. She nodded and settled herself in, but she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep yet. There was too much on her mind. However, her father did not leave her bedside- poor Jean Valjean was now fearing that, after coming around so quickly, Cosette would regress with the same speed. He stayed and watched her steady breathing.

On her part, when she noticed he was not going to leave, she pretended to be asleep, knowing he was worried. She had grown very good at keeping her father happy. She knew he was overprotective, because he loved her- so she did her best to console him and reassure him of her safety. So that he had even refrained from banning Marius from the household was a good sign.

Her thoughts were tangled- she wondered what had happened since she'd been shot, was worried about her health, was in pain, was thinking of Marius and her father, was thinking of England... until her weakness put her to sleep.

* * *

A knock sounded on Marius' door at eight o'clock in the morning. He'd just risen and was drinking some tea, so it was surprising that someone had called on him already.

It was Madame Toussaint, the maid from Cosette's house.

"Monsieur Pontmercy," she stuttered. Her face looked incredibly worried. Her eyes were wide in fear, and Marius, instead of remembering that this was how Toussaint _always_looked, overreacted and grew frightened. He gripped the door frame, tense, trying to be polite and not snap at her for not finishing her sentence earlier. "I am here from Monsieur Fauchelevent to tell you that Mademoiselle is awake."

He grabbed his jacket off the back of a chair and ran out the door.

He cursed himself for living in a city that took a long time to navigate through, but eventually made it, Toussaint huffing at his heels. He caught his breath for a minute before talking to the porter, who had been expecting them, and was led upstairs.

Earlier that morning, Cosette had woken and was feeling immeasurably better. The doctor was due at nine, but she had wanted to get out of bed. Valjean allotted her about twenty feet- she walked out of her bedroom onto the couch in the living room, when she was draped in a blanket and supported with pillows and essentially put right back into bed.

When Marius knocked on the door to the apartment, Cosette dropped her end of the conversation she was having with her father, staring at the door and looking like she was trying to peer through it. He sighed and went up to answer it.

As soon as the door was opened, Monsieur Pontmercy was talking. "Monsieur! I heard she was awake, and I came as soon as I could-"

"Marius!" Cosette said, from her place on the couch.

"Cosette!" he exclaimed, and walked inside, kneeling beside the couch. She was upright and energetic. It was habit to reach for her hands, but he stopped himself halfway through the action, not wanting to hurt her. "How are you feeling?" he asked gently. He used the _vous _form, very concious of her father behind them.

"Fine, actually- last night when I woke I had a headache, but I think it was from sleeping so long. I couldn't fall back asleep after I awoke- understandable, because I'd been sleeping for _days and days, _and my headache went away. This morning, for breakfast, Toussaint made me _soup!_ To think, soup for breakfast! She says it should help me get better, but I don't know how chicken soup is going to help my arm heal-"

"Cosette," her father said somewhat warningly.

"Oh. Right. My father said to make sure I stayed restful." She took a deep breath and relaxed against the pillows. "There."

"Does your arm hurt?"

"You can say _tu_ to me," she said, confused. "You used to. Remember?"

He blushed, his act completely falsified. "Right. Does your arm hurt?" he revised.

"A little. Well, yes, actually it hurts horribly. But if I think of other things, I've found I can distract myself."

"You sound as though you've been awake for days instead of merely hours."

"Well, I need a coping mechanism," she said, her eyes sparkling. _Alive,_ he thought. Her heart was beating. That was what mattered. "Distract me- tell me something that's happened in the past month. What have you been doing?"

"What have _I_ been doing? Working, and coming here," he said. "Nothing terribly interesting."

"How are you?" she said, concerned. "Your friends..."

"Are gone," he said simply.

"How are you coping?"

"Distraction," he said, then his face clouded over. "And you have provided an excellent one by doing something so incredibly thoughtless!"

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely.

"You should be. It was ridiculous, you being there-"

"I meant about your friends," she interrupted. "That's terrible. But I'm not sorry I came to the barricade."

Marius tensed.

"I'm not. If I hadn't come, you would have died. I think this is a fair trade-"

"Cosette! You had no business being at that barricade! It was dangerous and impulsive and you don't even _know_ what could have happened to you!"

She wrinkled her brow at him. "Really? I thought my father had lectured me about this enough for the both of you. Father, is he even allowed to lecture me like this?" She turned, demanding a response from Jean Valjean, infuriated that they both had turned on her.

Though Valjean did not want to agree with Marius Pontmercy, after all the havoc he had reigned on Cosette, Valjeanfelt himself sharing an opinion with him.

"Most definitely," he said. Cosette frowned.

"Fine. Let's all make Cosette feel bad about herself," she said miserably, pouting. Marius laughed, but grew serious again.

"I won't bring it up again if you promise not to do anything remotely as dangerous again," he bargained. Valjean balked- not bring it up again? That was ridiculous! She needed to grasp what a hell she'd put him through!

"Alright," Cosette said, and shook his hand. "On the condition that you never do anything as dangerous again."

"But I had a _reason,_" he hedged.

"So did I," she said, knowing she had the upper hand.

Marius did not point out that, though they were both in danger of guns at the barricade, she had been in far more danger being out on the streets alone, especially considering she had absolutely no knowledge of the city of Paris and how to walk about it at night. "Fine. I promise if you promise."

"It's a deal," she said, and they shook on it again. "But... aren't you even a little glad?"

"That I'm not dead?" he asked seriously. She nodded. He brought her good hand up to his cheek. "At this moment? I'm so much more than thankful."

* * *

When he returned home that afternoon- Cosette finally grew tired again and he left- his spirits were so high that he whistled while walking. The doctor had come in, declared Cosette on the upswing of the road to recovery, rebound her arm, and left. She felt fine, except her arm still hurt of course. But her fever symptoms were gone. And Monsieur Fauchelevent was _nice_ to him! The whole time he was there, the three of them made friendly conversation.

But when he turned the corner to his hallway, he found Eponine there, again- enough to dampen his mood significantly.

"What do you want?" he groaned. "What will make you go away?"

"Will you please listen to me?"

"Fine." He turned and faced her. "What is it?"

"I didn't want to make you angry," she confessed. "I went to the barricade, and I brought Mademoiselle there to bring you home. That's all," she said.

"You're lying," he said through clenched teeth. "You knew more about the streets than she did. You brought her _knowing _she was in danger, and you didn't warn her. And you tricked me into coming. You told me to come, and told Cosette to come- if you hadn't interfered, neither of us would have gone and we would have been together. What was your idea, Eponine?" he spat out. "What did you hope to gain?"

"You," she said weakly.

_"What?"_

"I... I can't help it. I know it was wrong, I'm sorry. Please, don't think me evil."

He glared at her.

"I think..." she gulped, feeling a lump in her throat. "It pushed me to do something thoughtless, I should have known what I wanted to do wouldn't work, because it made me lose common sense and you'll think I'm terribly selfish, but really I didn't mean to be-"

"What's 'it'?" he interrupted.

She stared at him wide-eyed. "You don't know? You haven't guessed?"

He just gave her a confused and impatient look.

"I would have thought, after how I rambled to Mademoiselle, she would have told you... I made it perfectly obvious, I'm afraid... Monsieur Marius. I did all that... I wanted to bring you home because... because I'm in love with you." She said the words finally, the words that she used to dream would make him drop everything and hold her tightly to him and kiss her until she was breathless... but now, she knew they would elicit no reaction from him. "At least, a little," she backtracked, trying to preserve some of her dignity.

"I don't... understand," he said slowly. "How can you be in _love _with me?"

"I can't control it!" she defended. "All I know is that I couldn't let you die and I couldn't watch you waste away over her. And you _know_ you would have, if she went away to England-"

"Please stop," he said curtly. "Wait." He held up a hand. "How did you know Cosette was going to England?"

"She... she told me," Eponine lied nervously.

Marius' eyes bored into her, and this time she told the truth. A small fragment of it, anyway.

"I read it in the letter she sent you. Then I told her you were going to the barricade- but you must understand, I was trying to _help!"_ He didn't need to know that it was she who had interfered, drawing the fears out from Cosette's father, forcing him to leave with his daughter, for she alone knew his secret.

"And you thought... bringing her to the barricade where she would _die_ would fix that? And bringing me there to... to what? To watch? That's evil." he said, glaring with hatred in his eyes.

So she had elicited a reaction from him... it just hadn't been the right one.

"I don't know what I wanted to do," she said weakly. "I'm sorry."

"Please... just leave me be."

"Will you ever speak to me again?" she asked, not letting herself feel hope.

"No. I think that would be best. For both of our sakes," he said coldly.

"How is she?" Eponine asked, hoping that maybe an inquiry over Cosette's health would win him over.

He faced her head on. "She woke up today. For the first time in a month. I hope you're happy."

Then, he turned and entered his apartment, shutting the door firmly behind him, and then locking it. He kicked off his boots and removed his jacket, before sitting, seething, on his bed. He rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, and felt his temples throbbing. He was so angry... and yet she was lucky to have spoken to him on _this _day, this day when Cosette had woken up, because his mood was brighter than otherwise.

What she had done was inexcusable. What kind of person comes up with a plan like that? A plan to hoodwink someone by dragging them to their death?

The realization that he and Cosette had just been mere puppets in her game was more than unnerving. He and Cosette had both nearly lost their lives, because of this girl's petty jealousy. And how could she love him anyway? They barely knew each other.

He shuddered, wondering what she wanted from him, what she saw in him. What had he done to attract someone so terrible? The thought of being with her made him grimace. It was not that she was ugly, for she was not that ugly, when one looked at her closely. But she was wretched. She was torn up inside, poverty and evil seeping through her skin, making her dark and twisted and willing to steal and claw and push people to their deaths to get what she wanted...

But she loved him. Well- could she be completely evil, if she loved? Love could not be evil, if it was indeed love she felt.

Marius was kept up all night wondering over these facts, turning her words over in his head. The love he felt for Cosette... it was undeniable, pure and good. Not good in the sense of his other morals- he was upright and refused to break laws or do anything dishonest. That was 'good' by the book- no. Love was good in the sense of God. Loving Cosette felt like a connection to the sublime, the divine. It was a light, impossible to vanquish, sinless and white. If Eponine had anything like that inside of her... the rest of her could not be as perverse and sinister as he thought.

Or could those things exist side by side?

In the morning, he was almost on the verge of forgiving her. Not for doing what she'd done, for it was foolish and evil, but she was obviously an uneducated mixture of child and adult, with the worst examples to teach her morals. She had learned to take what she wanted when she wanted it- how could he expect her to do anything different?

But then, when he went into the Fauchelevent's living room, he saw the doctor changing Cosette's bandage. A month later, and the wound was still enough to draw tears from her eyes, making her clench of fist in pain until the knuckles were white. He felt his stomach flip, his soul turn in anger toward the one who had done it.

Even someone with thieves for parents must be held responsible.

* * *

**Don't hate him...**

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